Late Canada Goose Season Opens February 1st

Keith Wildeman

Here’s a note to you hunters. The Indiana DNR has passed a temporary rule continuing the the February Canada goose hunting season. The dates this year are February 1-15. The season will be open in selected counties to control the population of breeding Canada geese around urban areas.

“The intent of this late season is to help harvest some of the extra geese from out of the city limits that come out to the rural areas to feed in the fields,” explained Starke County Conservation Officer, Keith Wildeman. “We’ve had an early season in September for a long time that targets some of these geese but a lot of times, the open areas are still in crop production and the geese are still in areas where they feel safe. As the winter goes on and we get snow, the conditions force the geese to go out of the city limits and feed, giving hunters the opportunity to help harvest some of these geese that can be viewed as an issue for certain people. You’re allowed to take five daily as opposed to the regular season which is two.”

Starke, Marshall, and LaPorte Counties are in the expanded hunting areas. Last year, 900 fewer geese were harvested than in 2009.